Lufkin wraps up spring practice with annual exhibition game

The Lufkin Panthers closed the book on their spring practice session on Monday night inside Abe Martin Stadium when they held their annual Panther Spring Game.

The team was only able to find the end zone once with the second team offense during the first half. Head Coach Todd Quick was not concerned about the lack of production on offense and credited the defense for stepping up.

"The defense played great," Quick said. "I thought the defense flew around around and made the adjustments when they needed to to stop the offense. I was real proud of the effort on both sides of the ball."

The game did see two of the big returning play makers not on the field.

Ja'Lynn Polk sat out of the game with a minor hamstring concern. Breylon Garica has not seen any contact since a scary leg break in the second round of the playoffs. Both have been given the all clear to play but the coaches do not want to rush anything.

"Why rush them back and make it bad for them," Quick said. "They will both be okay and are going to be big parts of the team. With Polk out, you are talking about the biggest body with have at the wide receiver position. That made a big difference tonight."

Garcia will be switching to defense this season," Quick added. "He is as fast as some of the corners. You look at the match up on the line he will win the assignment. Having him be there and play out side is big for us."

The team will now rest up and prepare for the 7-on-7 season. The Panthers will be in The Woodlands on June1. They will host a tournament on June 8 and then travel to Tyler Lee on June 16. The season for Lufkin starts on August 31 at Longview.